Music Banquet

Philomena was honored at the Music Banquet.  For whatever reason, freshman don't letter in band, choir, or orchestra, but she is on track to letter next year.  She applied and was chosen for the band council which is a leadership role within the band.  Her desire to grow in her interests and to take on leadership roles in those areas is a characteristic that makes me proud of her.  She works so hard and it shows in the quality of her endeavors!

 

Tornado

Tornadoes came through the Lincoln/Omaha area during the school day on April 26th.  Luckily, elementary students were not in attendance due to it being a plan day for us.  I had to take shelter with my fellow teachers but we didn't have to worry about any students.  We could see this tornado from our school as it was hitting Waverly.  Peggy said Jon was outside and saw the tornado coming.  He ran inside yelling that all 3 of them needed to get down to the basement for shelter.  Jake didn't have school so he was home and Peg was working from home.  Their basketball hoop broke even with the ground so although it was easy to take care of afterwards.  Mom's house only had papers blown into the yard.  A business outside of Waverly was destroyed as the tornado went through it and the train on the tracks across the highway from the business.  I didn't have any damage at my house in Lincoln.  Maggie said they took shelter at Mickle but no real stories to tell about it.  Philomena said the sirens went off during passing period at LHS so there was no way to account for students.  Teachers just grabbed who was in the hall near them and went to shelter.  Some idiot students left the building and started stealing out of cars in the parking lot.  When school released, the idiots drove off too quickly causing traffic safety issues and then a police presence which created more chaos.  Their dad got the girls home safe.  I was supposed to meet a friend for supper and canceled due to the weather, but then things calmed down so we decided to still go out for supper just a bit later than our original plans.  It's been quite the spring for thunderstorms and multiple tornadoes across the area.

 

Happy 90th Birthday, Grandma!

Due to my dad's health, we postponed our surprise birthday party for Grandma.  April 20th was the next date that we all had available to surprise her.  She walked into the restaurant and her jaw dropped.  She then asked my mom if this was why she insisted she wanted to eat at this restaurant.  We had so much fun spending time together and Grandma even wore the sombrero as everyone sang Happy Birthday!  So many good family photos that I need to really print and hang so we can enjoy them. 

 

District Music Contest

District Music Contest was at Southwest High School, clear across town from us, this year.  They sounded great and the judge that I was sitting behind was moving to the music like he enjoyed it.  All three judges gave them a 1.  I was really glad they had an early evening time slot so we were home at a decent time.  Bands were playing up until 9 pm!

 

Unified Track - Shot Put

Most of Philomena's track meets were during the day while her dad and I were working.  LPS bussed the students to the different high schools for their meets.  On April 17th, I was able to get to her track meet before she threw shot put.  She threw 11'8" which is a new personal best!  So proud of her for finding her place in the activities that she enjoys!

 

Climbing Tree to Calm Self

Maggie was hoppin mad at me.  She stormed out of the house and when I looked out the kitchen window while doing dishes, she was sitting up in the tree.  It reminded me of a children's story that we used to read the kids at Kooser.  It helped Maggie calm down just like the girl in the story.  I'm so proud of how she's building her calming techniques.